Progress of Chemistry in South Korea
by Choon H. Do “rain, cloud, and wind” and married a woman trans- formed from a bear by taking garlic and mugwort for The Lamp of the East three weeks. In BC 2333 they set up a kingdom named In the golden age of Asia Gojoseon (Old Joseon). Interestingly, this legend tells Korea was one of its lamp-bearers us that Koreans recognized from a long time ago the And that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again importance of the environment and chemistry to sus- For the illumination in the East. taining human life. Rain, cloud, and wind are important —Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) factors for agriculture, and garlic and mugwort were used as medicines in ancient Korea. It also depicts the t was an historic event for the Korean Chemical Korean endurance for hardship. Society (KCS) to host the 45th IUPAC World According to unearthed remains, Koreans have in- IChemistry Congress (WCC) and the 48th IUPAC habited the Korean peninsula from the Paleolithic peri- General Assembly (GA) in August 2015. It was the first od. A petroglyph at Daegok-ri, Ulsan, probably carved time that the WCC and GA have been hosted in Korea in the Bronze or Iron Age, shows several types of since KCS became a member in the early 1960s. KCS whales, animals, and tools for hunting (Fig. 1). Among applied for membership in 1961 and the application other things, these early inhabitants knew how to hunt was approved the following year. Dr. Dong Il Kim and giant whales and record these events on the stone wall Prof. Sun Kyung Kim attended the 22nd GA in London in an artistic manner. in 1963 as the first KCS delegates. After Gojoseon, some of the northern territory of Korea was occupied by China’s Han Dynasty and Several international conferences sponsored by was renamed Hansagun. In the meantime, three king- IUPAC have been held in Korea: Chemrawn IX on the doms—Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje—were established Role of Advanced Materials in Sustainable Develop- in BC 54, BC 37, and BC 18, respectively. From the pe- ment was held in Seoul in September 1996, the 36th riod of these three kingdoms, the history of Korea is International Symposium on Macromolecules (MAC- relatively well documented. The three kingdoms were RO) was held in Seoul in August 1996, and the 19th In- unified by Silla in AD 668 and the Silla Dynasty lasted ternational Conference on Chemical Education (ICCE) until AD 935. Gun Wang set up the Goryo Dynasty in was held in Seoul in August 2006. AD 918 and overthrew Silla in AD 935 to rule Korea. To mark this year’s special occasion, when the The Koryo Dynasty lasted until 1393, when General IUPAC WCC and GA are held in Busan, Korea, CI invit- Sung-gye Lee, the leader of a military coup in 1392, set ed Choon H. Do to describe the history and the future up the Joseon Dynasty and became a King himself. The prospects of chemistry in Korea. Joseon Dynasty was merged into Japan and dissolved in 1910. Japan occupied and ruled Korea from 1910 until Ancient Chemistry in Korea 1945. Korea became independent from Japanese rule on 15 August 1945 at the end of World War II. The Ko- According to a legend on the establishment of Korea, rean peninsula was divided in two, with the northern the Korean people are descendants of Dangun, the part ruled by the Soviet Union and the southern part son of a Heavenly God who came down to Korea with by the United States from 1945 to 1948. South Korea
Fig. 1: Petroglyph in Daegok-ri, Ulsan, Korea. Fig. 2: Gold crown in Silla Fig. 3: Glassware imported from Lines were redrawn for emphasis. Dynasty Persian region
4 CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 Period Names of Nations
Ancient Korea Gojoseon (BC 2333-BC 108) tools such as armor, helmets, and agricultural imple- Hansagun (BC 108 –AD 314) ments, and were exported to Japan and China accord- Three Kingdoms Silla Dynasty (BC 57-AD 935) ing to written documents. Period and Unified Goguryeo Dynasty (BC 34-AD 668) From the Three Kingdoms Period Korea was an Silla Kingdom Baekje Dynasty (BC 18–AD 660) open society and traded with foreign countries freely. Medieval and early Goryo Dynasty (AD 918-1392) Glassware shown in Figure 3, for example, might come modern Korea Joseon Dynasty (AD 1392-1910) from the Persian region. Another very interesting ex- Occupation period by ample is a stone soldier standing in front of the tomb Japan (1910-1945) of King Wonseong (reign period AD 785-798), 38th King of the Silla Kingdom (Fig. 4). The figure of the Independence (1945) stone soldier is similar to western figures, and indicates Modern Korea, Korean South Korea (1948–present) that foreigners lived in Korea from ancient times. Ac- War (1950-1953) North Korea (1948–present) cording to legend, Queen Hwangok Huh came from In- Table 1: A Brief History of Korea dia in AD 48 and married Suro Kim, the founding King of the Garak Kingdom, a small kingdom between Silla was formally established 15 August 1948 with obser- and Baekje that was later merged into Silla. She be- vation by UN Temporary Commission on Korea, and came the progenitor of the Korean surname ‘Huh’. North Korea was established 9 September 1948. The Korean War erupted 25 June 1950 and lasted until a Chemistry in Medieval and Early cease-fire was declared 27 July 1953. This cease-fire Modern Korea remains in place today. The history of Korea is briefly outlined in Table 1. During the period between the 10th and early 20th centuries AD, two dynasties, the Koryo (918-1392) and Chemistry in the Three Kingdoms Chosun (1392-1910), rose and fell in Korea. Because the Period society of these two dynasties was disrupted for long times by invasions from Mongolian and Chinese forces We can guess the state of chemistry in the Three King- from the north, and by Japanese forces from the south, doms Period through the archaeological remains of Koreans had difficulties developing new sciences and the Silla Dynasty. These survived at a relatively higher technologies. Nevertheless, a few noticeable develop- rate than those of the Goguryeo and Baekje Kingdoms. ments were made. Of these remains, gold crowns, steel lumps, and glass- ware are notable for chemists. Figure 2 shows a gold Invention of metallic type and printing crown excavated from a tomb of the Silla Dynasty pe- A Buddhist book, ‘Jikji’, printed in 1377 in Goryeo Dy- riod. Many other remains were also made of gold. Sil- nasty using metallic type, is stored in the Manuscrits la produced significant gold and knew how to handle Orientaux division of the National Library of France it. Iron lumps in shallow sheet shapes were also found (Fig. 5). This book was confirmed as the world’s old- in tombs. These iron lumps were first produced as a est extant book printed with movable metal type by sponge iron form and then hammered into wrought UNESCO in September 2001 and is included in their iron. These iron lumps were used as basic materials for Memory of the World Programme. It shows that Ko- reans continuously improved science and technology Fig. 4: A stone soldier statue in front of the 38th ruler, not only for sustenance, but also for spiritual progress. King Wonseong’s tomb (reign period: AD 785-798)
Compilation of medical knowledge Medical and medicinal information is always very im- portant to human life. In 1613, the Korean court phy- sician Jun Huh and his colleagues compiled a book, ‘Dongeuibogam’ (Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine), an encyclopedia of medical knowledge and treatment techniques. Many prescriptions are still ap- plied today and are sources of research in herbal med- icine. The book also describes the ideals of preventive
CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 5 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea
It’s is not known precisely why Koreans didn’t continue contact with westerners during these long periods. Howev- er, the leaders and scholars of those periods failed to match the progress of the modern civ- ilizations of the world. One the- ory, although it is not proven, is that recovery from the invasion and oppression by outsiders Fig. 5: ‘Jikji’ (left), the oldest extant book printed with movable metalloid took a long time. Some leaders type; and the medical books Dongeuibogam (right), part of the UNESCO tried to establish contact with “Memory of the World” Programme. western civilization in the 19th century, but their impacts were medicine and public health care by the state, ideals weak. At the start of the 20th that are very advanced even from the modern point of century, Korea lost its opportunity to catch up by itself view. Dongeuibogam was added to the Memory of the and came under Japanese occupation when the Jo- UNESCO World Programme in 2009 (Fig 5). seon Dynasty was merged with Japan in 1910.
Invention of Korean alphabet, ‘Hangeul’ Table 2: Korean alphabet, “Hangeul” The invention of Korean alphabet, “Hangeul”, in 1446 by a group of scholars designated by King Sejong (Fig. Consonants 6), is worth mentioning. It was easy for Koreans to (14 characters) learn, and consequently became an excellent tool for learning and communication. The Korean alphabet is Vowels composed of 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The shapes (10 characters) of the consonants and vowels are shown in Table 2. One will notice that the shapes are simple, geometri- cal, and symmetrical. Ordinary people can learn this system in a short time, and it can describe foreign lan- Fig. 6: The Great King guages without difficulty. It is also a very good fit for Sejong, who invented modern computer tasks. Needless to say, the invention ‘Hangeul’, the Korean of the Korean alphabet contributed greatly to the de- alphabet, is shown velopment of science and technology in Korea. on the 10,000 Won Korean banknote. ‘Hermit nation’ and ‘Morning calm’
Evidence shows that Koreans did not actively make contact with foreign countries between the 10th and 20th centuries, except for China and Japan. Korea re- mained unknown in western countries for a long time. Then, in 1668, a Dutch sailor named Hendrick Hamel wrote a report, “Hamel’s Journal and a description of Independence and Post-Korean War the Kingdom of Korea (1653-1666)”, after escaping Reconstruction from Korea. In 1653 Hamel and other sailors had landed in Korea after their Dutch merchant ship was wrecked. As a result of the conclusion of World War II, Korea They were held for 13 years. Hamel’s journal was edited gained its independence 15 August 1945. Living un- into a book and Korea became known to westerners. der the oppression of other countries had been diffi- At this time, Korea became known as the ‘Hermit na- cult, and the oppressed society lacked human rights, tion’ and the ‘Morning calm’ country. as well as the structures required to develop proper
6 CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea education, science, and creative minds. Korea had one and institutions were introduced into Korea. Commod- misfortune on the top of another. Koreans experienced ities such as coffee, penicillin, canned food, and nylon the tragedy of fratricidal war between 1950 and 1953. socks were imported. ‘Jeep’, ‘three-quarter’ and ‘GMC’ Some of the remaining resources left after indepen- became common names for small passenger cars and dence were reduced to ashes by the war. medium and large trucks at the time. Immediately following independence, only a few Policy makers recognized what should be done to Koreans obtained a Ph.D. degree and the number of reconstruct the country, to eliminate hunger and pov- graduates majoring in engineering and sciences at Ko- erty, and to provide shelters for people suffering from rea’s universities and technical high schools were mere war, and executed their plans. With the assistance of hundreds. To change this, the Korean Chemical Society various international organizations and foreign coun- (KCS) was established 7 July 1946. The specialties of tries, the Korean government and the country’s private the 36 charter members included chemistry, chemical sectors began to help themselves. Mungyung Cement engineering, agriculture, and medicine. Co., Gyungbuk, was established in October 1957 with During and after the war, many foreign countries Dutch technologies. Sheet Glass Manufacturing Plant helped to reconstruct Korea. They supplied not only in Inchon was built in 1957 through the aid of UNK- food and clothes but also construction materials for RA. An automatic glass bottle factory was set up with housing and schools for education. They helped to set help from the United States. A fertilizer plant was built up factories and to build roads. Some of this foreign in Chungju, Chungbuk in 1959. It produced urea fertil- aid came from the United Nations Korean Reconstruc- izer and was the first chemical plant in South Korea. tion Agency (UNKRA), created by the United Nations The plant not only produced fertilizer, but also had a to help economic reconstruction in 1950 and focused role in educating many chemical engineers and scien- on aiding war refugees and the homeless. The Unit- tists who later became leaders in the chemical indus- ed Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aided tries. Inchon Iron factory started to produce steel from Korea from 1963, while the Development Assistance open-hearth furnaces in 1956. Polyurethane slabstock Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic foam was produced in 1957 by importing technology Co-operation and Development (OECD) also helped to and raw materials from Bayer, of Germany. South Ko- rebuild Korea’s economy. The U.S. Agency for Interna- rea began to have some basic industries and plans for tional Development (USAID) also assisted South Korea further development by late 1950. in building its agricultural, educational, and industrial sectors. According to DAC data, the total foreign as- Current Status of Chemical sistance to Korea was USD 13 billion. This foreign as- Industries sistance was used to overcome poverty and achieve Today, the production of Korean chemical industries economic development—in 2000 the UNDP reclas- is about EUR 132.1 billion and ranked 5th in the world sified South Korea from recipient of aid to a donor. (Fig. 7). In 2013, the total exports of these industries During this period, many elements of western culture were USD 83,535 million, while the imports were USD
Fig. 7: Production of Chemical Industries in 2014 (Source: Cefic: http://www.cefic.org/Facts-and-Figures/)
CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 7 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea
Fig. 8: Commemorative stamp for the set-up of an oil refinery as one of 5-year economic development plan (1964). Fig. 9: Ulsan Petrochemicals complex
60,014 million. (2014 Annals of Science and Technol- Nylon 6 was produced by Hankook Nylon Co. in 1963. ogy, Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, S. The production of PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET, BR, SBR and Korea). This includes petrochemicals, fine chemicals, acrylic fiber started. Ulsan became the largest city for fertilizers, ceramics, paper and its raw materials, abra- petrochemical production in Korea. Currently they are sion products, plastics, and rubber products. The total focusing on the bio-, nano-, and fine-chemicals fields. balance of Korea’s chemical industries trade is in the After Ulsan Petrochemicals Complex, Petrochem- black, but shows deficits of USD 9,180 million in the ical complexes were set up at Yosu in 1976-79 and at trade of fine chemicals, USD 2,184 million in industrial Daesan in the 1990s (Fig. 10). Global chemical compa- chemicals, and USD 2,998 million in ceramics. These nies such as BASF, BP, Solvay, S-Oil, Mitsui, Eastman data indicate that chemical industries in Korea are still Chemical, Rhodia, DuPont, Mobil, Total, and Dow are behind in fine chemicals and specialty chemicals and now operating in Korea. need to invest and develop these fields. Iron and Nonferrous metals Petrochemicals Pohang Iron & Steel Company As initial reconstructions commenced after the Korean (POSCO) was set up by a joint War, a military coup arose in 1961. The new government venture between Korean and executed a series of economic development plans. Ul- Japanese companies in 1968 san Petrochemical Complex was established between and begun production of steel 1968 and 1973. An Oil refinery producing 35,000 bbl/ in 1972 (Fig. 11). POSCO built a day was built in 1964 in a joint venture with Gulf Oil 2nd mill in Gwangyang in 1988. (Figs. 8 & 9)—many companies were established ei- Onsan Industrial Complex in Ul- ther through a joint venture or independently. The first san was planned in 1974 for the naphtha cracking facility, needed for the production of Fig. 11: Stamp production of nonferrous met- polymers and petrochemicals, was set up in 1973, and commemorating als, aluminum, copper, zinc, nick- the construction el, and lead, and completed in of POSCO (1973) 2000. Through the production of plastics, steel and nonferrous metals, they were able to supply basic materials for the automobile, shipbuilding, and electronics industries.
Government and National Research Institutes
The Korean government eagerly supports the progress of economic development and science and engineer- ing. The Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning; and the Ministry of Trade, In- dustry & Energy are the main engines to propel the policy of the Korean government supporting educa- Fig. 10: Location of Ulsan, Yosu, and Daesan tion, research, innovation, science, and technology. petrochemicals complexes. They have set up many national research institutes
8 CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea and organizations. Some important institutes are de- Research Institute (ETRI), Korea Testing & Research In- scribed below: stitute (KTR), Small & Medium Business Administration (SMBA), Korea Textile Development Institute (KTDI), Central Industry Research Institute: This institute, es- and Korea Institute of Footwear & Leather Technology tablished under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (KIFLT). in 1949, was the first governmental agency for science and technology. As the only place where most scien- Chemical Education and tists and engineers could work after independence, Universities they shaped the first community of science, technol- ogy, and industry. Before independence, there was one university, and few private technical colleges and technical or agricul- Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI): At tural high schools. Following independence, the Kore- the time that nuclear power was emerging, and as an people quickly re-established the national educa- people witnessed the nuclear power of the bombs tion system using a small reservoir of human resources dropped on Japan, the newly born Korean government in education. National Universities were established in focused on catching up with contemporary nuclear each province. Many private universities were also es- science and technology. The Korean government initi- tablished with influential support. ated KAERI and imported a research reactor, the Triga Seoul National University was established in 1946 Mark II from General Atomics in 1962 for peaceful use— by combining Kyungsung Imperial University and agriculture, industry, medicine, science, and engineer- other technical colleges that existed before indepen- ing. Using this research reactor, they trained not only dence. Other national universities were established at nuclear scientists and engineers but also pure scien- Busan, Kyungbook, Chonnam, Chonbuk, Chungbuk, tists and engineers. They have also recruited scientists Chungnam, Gangwon, and Jeju. and engineers from abroad. Currently, South Korea is The private universities have diverse foundation or- operating 23 nuclear power reactors, producing 20.7 igins. Yonsei University, with roots from 1885, became billion watts and supplying 35% of the country’s total a college in 1915 and university in 1957. Its beginnings electricity. come from a hospital founded by American protestant missionaries of the Presbyterian Church. Korea Uni- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST): versity was established in 1946 by renaming Bosung During summit talks in 1965, Korean President Chung- Technical College, which was established in 1905 by a hee Park and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson agreed private supporter. Sungkyunkwan University traces its to establish a research and development institute in roots to the Korean Confucian educational system and Korea. A deal to establish KIST was signed in 1966 and rituals of the Chosun Dynasty. It was founded in 1398, the Institute was completed in 1969. It was the first although its current university system was enacted in multi-disciplinary scientific research institute in Korea 1946. Inha University was established in 1954 through and has since contributed significantly to the develop- donations by Korean emigrants living in Hawaii in the ment of the Korean sciences in many areas. As scien- hope of assisting development in Korea through ed- tists and engineers joined KIST, the research positions ucation. Ewha Womans University is the first wom- there created the first major “reverse brain-drain” from en’s university in Korea. It was founded in 1886 by the overseas. American Methodist Episcopal mission, and the current university form was established in 1945. Sookmyung Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology Women’s University was established in 1906 as the first (KRICT): KRICT was established in 1978 with the aim of royal private educational institution for women. applying chemistry research to strengthen the Korean The number of universities and colleges increased chemical industry’s international competitiveness. very quickly following independence and through the modern era due to “education fever”. Currently there There are many other institutes established by the Ko- are 190 4-year universities and 140 2-year colleges in rean government or with governmental support. Some Korea. More than 80% of high school graduates regis- of these related to chemistry are the Institute for Basic ter at college or university. Science (IBS), Korea Research Institute of Bioscience After the Korean War, the education system fol- and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Korea Basic Science In- lowed that of the United States. One notable program stitute (KBSI), Electronics and Telecommunications during this time was the Minnesota Project by USAID.
CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 9 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea
Journals Magazines
KCS Bull. Kor. Chem. Soc. (in English), ChemWorld J. Kor. Chem. Soc. (in Korean) KIChE Kor. J. Chem. Eng. (in English), News & Info. For Chem. Eng. Kor. J. Chem. Res. (in Korean). PSK Macromol. Res. (in English), Polym. Sci. & Tech. Polymer (in Korean) KSICE J. Ind. Eng. Chem. (in English), Prospectives of Ind. Chem. Ind. Chem. (in Korean) CerS J. Kor. Ceram. Soc. (in Eng. & Korean) Ceramist
KSBMB Exp. Mol. Medicine (in English), KSBMB News (on-line only) BMB Reports (on-line J.)
Table 3. Some key Societies and their publications
This program provided universities in Korea with staff domestic and international scientific societies. Chem- improvement and equipment in engineering, medicine, ists and chemical engineers organized many societies agriculture, and public administration. Through this according to their scientific interests and disciplines. program, faculty members visited the United States to Each society actively holds meetings, conferences, and obtain a degree and to catch up with the development forums and publishes journals, magazines, and news- of modern science and technology. Many scholars also letters. Because most scientific terms and definitions went to Germany, France, and other European coun- came from abroad, many scientific societies translated tries. English terms they used into Korean terms. To this end, At most universities, the chemistry departments the Korean Union of Chemical Science and Technology were placed in the college of liberal sciences, while Societies (KUCST) published “Terminologies of Chemi- chemical engineering departments were set up in the cal Science & Engineering” including chemistry, chem- college of engineering. Departments of applied chem- ical engineering, and polymer and industrial chemistry. istry, industrial chemistry, fiber technology and poly- Scientific societies related to chemistry and chemi- mer were also established in the college of engineer- cal engineering are as follows (year of establishment in ing. The chemists and chemical engineers trained in all parentheses): Korean Chemical Society (KCS) (1946), of these departments became the workhorses of the Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers (KIChE) (1962), chemical industry in Korea. Polymer Society of Korea (PSK) (1976), Korean Society Relatively recently, several notable national and pri- of Industrial and Chemical Engineering (KSIEC) (1990), vate universities were established. Postech (former Po- Korean Ceramic Society (CerS) (1957), Korean Soci- hang Institute of Technology) was established in 1986 ety of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB) by the support of POSCO, while Korea Advanced In- (1948), Korean Society for Biomaterials (KSB) (1996), stitute of Science and Technology (KAIST) was estab- The Rubber Society of Korea (RSK) (1966), and Korean lished in 1971. Following the model of KAIST, regional Electrochemical Society (1983) universities with the same purposes have been estab- Small specialty societies are also emerging: Ko- lished: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology rea Polyurethane Society (2004), Korean Hydrogen (GIST) in 1993, Ulsan National Institute of Science and and New Energy Society (2005), Korean Silicon So- Technology (UNIST) in 2009, and Daegu Gyeongbuk ciety (2011). Further, chapters of many international Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in 2011. chemical societies are active in South Korea, including the American Chemical Society, The Royal Society of Chemical Scientific Societies and Chemistry, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. Associations Many different sections of chemical industries, such as textiles, rubber, plastics, electronics, steel, au- Many chemists and chemical engineers are active in tomobile, fertilizer, construction materials, cosmetics, research and in presenting their works through various and medicine, etc., form professional associations to
10 CHEMISTRY International September-December 2015 Progress of Chemistry in South Korea share information on new technologies, environmen- Epilogue—Busan harbor, gateway tal effects, and safety. They have contributed to the for connection with overseas development of Korean chemical industries greatly. Some examples are Korea Chemical Industry Council Busan is the 2nd largest city in S. Korea and its pop- (KOCIC) and Korea Petrochemical Industry Associ- ulation is about 3.5 million. The city was a temporary ation (KPIS). KOCIC’s purpose is to promote the ex- capital for the Republic of Korea during the Korean change of information and cooperation with various War. Busan port was the place where relief goods and organizations from the global chemical industry, such war supplies were unloaded during the war, but now it as the International Council of Chemical is the largest container port in Korea, and Associations (ICCA). KPIS was created the 5th largest in the world. for the development of the petrochemi- Busan exhibits the prosperity of the cal industry and to facilitate international Korean people after overcoming the dif- cooperation. ficulties, hunger, and poverty caused by the war and the colonial period. Busan Future and Challenges has many stories. A documentary film by R. J. McHatton, “Ship of Miracles” tells 2015 is the 70th year after Indepen- the story of the rescue of over 14 thou- dence and comes over 60 years after sand refugees by a single ship, the SS the Korean War. Currently active chem- Meredith Victory. It is the largest rescue ists and chemical engineers are there- operation in the history of mankind. The fore the 3rd and 4th generations after refugees landed safely in the southern independence and modern chemistry part of Busan, where they became Busan were introduced to Korea. They are a citizens. A UN Memorial Cemetery com- very talented group and expect to lead the current memorates the soldiers of 16 nations who participated and next generations in contributing to the state in the war on the side of South Korea. of the art of global chemical science. Many of them I trust the meeting of IUPAC General Assembly and are world class chemists and chemical engineers. World Chemical Congress in Busan has been an oppor- (see Chemists and Chemical Engineers in S. Ko- tunity not only for chemists and chemical engineers to rea, published online at www.chemistryculture.org/ discuss chemical issues and present their research, but en-chemculture/en-koreanchemistandengineer.htm) also for IUPAC to show to the world that chemists and Some problems may arise in the future, such as the chemical engineers change and improve human life for reduction in population and downsizing of the econo- the better. This occasion was also a fresh opportunity my. As in other developed countries, Koreans are also to upgrade the level of chemistry in Korea. facing challenges relating to the environment, sustain- ability, and the need to increase the public understand- Dr. Choon H. Do
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